State Differences in Medical Malpractice Limits

When medical procedures go wrong from negligence or willful misconduct, loved ones often want to explore their legal options. Medical malpractice lawsuits allow you to hold a doctor or other health care provider responsible when negligent medical treatment causes harm. But some states have passed laws that place limitations on the amount of money that can be awarded in a successful medical malpractice lawsuit. In this article, we’ll explain how these “monetary limits called caps” work in medical malpractice cases, and we’ll provide state-by-state details on the current distinctions between these laws across America.

In a typical medical malpractice lawsuit, a number of different categories of damages are available if the plaintiff is successful in establishing the doctor’s liability for harm (“damages” is just another word for compensation for emotional and physical injuries as well as loss of employment or affection). These types of damages include:

Cost of past and future medical treatment costs (economic damages)

Reimbursement for lost income/earning potential (economic damages)

Pain and suffering (non-economic damages)

Punitive damages (usually reserved for cases involving extreme or outrageous conduct such as sexual abuse of a patient)

As part of tort reform efforts, a number of states have passed laws that limit the amount of damages that are recoverable after a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Most of these damage caps apply to compensation for “non-economic” losses, which includes awards for a medical malpractice plaintiff’s pain and suffering, which is meant to cover pain, discomfort, stress, anxiety, scarring, disfigurement, and other negative effects of the plaintiff’s injuries and ongoing recovery. For example, in California, plaintiffs who win their medical malpractice case can only recover up to $250,000 in non-economic damages.

In the chart below, you’ll find the latest state-specific information on laws that place a cap on medical malpractice damages. Click on you state’s link for more detail about the award limits, as well as the statute of limitations and other civil injury laws courtesy of All Law:

StatEDamage Caps

Alabama None

Alaska Non-economic: $250,000. Wrongful death or a disability considered more than 70% disabling: $400,000

Arizona Constitutionally prohibited

Arkansas None

California Non-economic $250,000

Colorado Non-economic: $300,000. Total damages: $1 million

Connecticut None

Delaware None

District of Columbia None

Florida Non-Economic Damages: $500,000 for practitioners; $750,000 for non-practitioners; $1-million for permanent vegetative state or death

IdahoNon-economic $250,000, adjusted annually for inflation. Does not apply to wilful/reckless negligence or felonies.

Illinois Struck down in 2010 – Non-economic: $500,000 against providers. $1,000,000 against hospitals

Indiana $1,250,000 total if it occurred after 1999. Providers liable for a maximum of $250,000 with the rest to be paid only one plaintiff. If two wrongful death plaintiffs- $125% of current non-economic cap.

South Carolina Punitive damages: $350,000 or 3x compensatory damages. Non-economic: $350,000 or facility against each provider adjusted annually for inflation. Total claim with multiple providers capped at $1,050,000